Board of Directors
Steven Gillis, Ph.D.
Chairman
Managing Director
ARCH Ventures Partners
Steven Gillis, Ph.D. is a Managing Director with ARCH, joining the firm as a Venture Partner in 2005. Dr. Gillis is focused on the evaluation of new life science technologies and also on the development and growth of ARCH’s biotechnology portfolio companies. He is a director of Trubion Pharmaceuticals (TRBN), Allozyne, Variation Biotechnologies, Limerick NeuroSciences, Magen BioSciences, Accelerator, and Surface Logix. He serves as director and Chairman of VentiRx Pharmaceuticals, Spaltudaq and VLST.
Dr. Gillis was a founder and director of Corixa Corp. and served as the company’s CEO from its inception and as its Chairman from 1999 until its acquisition in 2005 by GlaxoSmithKline. Prior to Corixa, Dr. Gillis was a founder and director of Immunex Corp. From 1981 until his departure in 1994, he served as Immunex’s Director of Research and Development, Chief Scientific Officer, and as CEO of Immunex’s R&D subsidiary. Dr. Gillis was interim CEO of Immunex Corp. following its majority purchase by American Cyanamid Co. and remained a member of the board until 1997. Amgen, Inc. acquired Immunex in 2002.
Dr. Gillis is an immunologist by training with over 300 peer-reviewed publications in the areas of molecular and tumor immunology. He is credited as being a pioneer in the field of cytokines and cytokine receptors, directing the development of multiple marketed products including Leukine, (GM-CSF), Prokine (IL-2) and Enbrel (soluble TNF receptor-Fc fusion protein) as well as the regulatory approval of Bexxar (radiolabeled anti-CD20). Dr. Gillis received a B.A. from Williams College and a Ph.D. from Dartmouth College.
John D. Diekman, PhD
Director
Founder and Managing Partner
5AM Ventures
Dr. Diekman is a founder and Managing Partner of 5AM Ventures, an early stage life science venture capital fund. He is also Vice-Chairman of Singapore’s Life Science Fund, Bio*One Capital. Dr. Diekman is a director and former CEO and Chairman of Affymetrix, Inc. Currently, Dr. Diekman serves as a board member for a number of private life science companies. He is also a director of The California Institute of Technology and is the former chairman of the board of The Scripps Research Institute. Dr Diekman holds a B.A. in Chemistry from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Stanford University.
Brian Atwood
Director
Managing Director
Versant Ventures
Brian Atwood specializes in biotechnology investing at Versant. Brian co-founded Versant Ventures after spending four years at Brentwood Venture Capital where as a general partner he led investments in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and bioinformatics. He also has more than 15 years of operating experience in the biotechnology industry, with emphasis on therapeutic products, devices, diagnostics, and research instrumentation.
Prior to launching his career in venture capital, Brian was founder, president, and CEO of Glycomed, a publicly traded biotechnology company. At Glycomed, Brian concentrated on business development and strategic alliances, closing deals with Eli Lilly & Company, Millipore, Genentech, and Sankyo, before leading the sale of Glycomed to Ligand Pharmaceuticals. Prior to this, he co-founded and served as director of Perkin Elmer/Cetus Instruments, a joint venture for robotics automation and genomics research instruments and products later acquired by Perkin Elmer. Under Brian’s management, the venture developed and launched the GeneAmp(R) Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) system, the fundamental DNA amplification innovation responsible for fueling the explosive growth of genomics research. Brian served on the Board of Directors at Pharmion Corporation (sold to Celgene in 2008). Brian currently serves as a Board member at the private companies FivePrime Therapeutics, Veracyte, Inc., Trius Therapeutics, Inc., OpGen, Inc., Immune Design Corporation, PhaseRx, and Clovis Oncology, Inc., as well as public companies, Cadence Pharmaceuticals (CADX), and Helicos Biosciences (HLCS). He is an observer of the Board at ForteBio Inc.
Brian received a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Irvine, a Master’s degree from the University of California, Davis, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Robert Overell, Ph.D.
Director
President and CEO
PhaseRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(See Management page for biography.)
Paul H. Johnson, Ph.D.
Director
Chief Scientific Officer
PhaseRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(See Management page for biography.)